Ascend NY Metro and PwC Event recap

Ascend NY Metro and PwC co-sponsored a panel discussion on Thursday,
November 14. The event’s titled "Climbing the Corporate Ladder: The Pan Asian
Perspective.” Wesley Hom, the Board Member and Officer of Ascend, was the moderator
of the panel discussion. In this event, Ascend NY Metro was also honored to
invite Afzal Tarar, Partner of Financial Service Advisory from PwC; Kathy
McDermott, Tax IAS Partner of PwC; Annie Cheung, Former IBM Vice President,
Smarter Planet Initiatives for IBM ASEAN; and Jeannie Diefenderfer, Experienced
Senior Telecommunication Executive as our panelists for sharing their
experiences.

The event
was first started off with some industry background on how Asian professionals
are performing in the U.S.; what are the challenges that Asian are experiencing
in climbing the corporate ladder; and why there are not much Asian executives
in Corporate America. Furthermore, the
panelists shared the difficulties Asians are facing when getting sponsorships,
and compared the difference between sponsorship and mentorship. Sponsorship
means the sponsor is willing to give his / her political capital to support you,
but mentors could be your colleagues, seniors, or anyone in the industry
telling you what to do. Lastly, the panelists recommended the attendees to
start thinking about what is meant to become an executive or partner; and what
are the things that we might have to do in order to become director or partner.
For example, you have to consistently deliver quality work, and build a strong
personal branding.

Lastly, we would also like to thank PwC for the contribution and collaboration
for this co-sponsored panel discussion. We would also like to thank Esther Jung,
and all the volunteers in making this panel discussion a great success.

Thought of
the day: "The large extent of success is
from planning, thinking, and aspiration. Give passion on excelling the work you
perform. Be the best that you can in the field. Don’t forget to recognize the
work you perform, and learn how you could do better. And the last thing is don’t
always forget to seek for opportunities!”